


Office Romance

by Walkingonsunsh1ne



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-26 04:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30100557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Walkingonsunsh1ne/pseuds/Walkingonsunsh1ne
Summary: Margaret 'Maggie' Harris is a trainee accountant at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. This is her everyday life.
Relationships: Jim Halpert/Original Female Character
Kudos: 1





	1. The Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own The Office (UK and US).  
> This book will follow episodes from The Office US, and will feature a slow burn romance between my character, Maggie, and Jim Halpert.  
> Please comment, let me know what you think.

“Maggie - let’s see, you’re moving up in the world. You’ve nearly completed your training”  
Maggie was sat in front of Michael Scott, the regional manager for Scranton’s branch of the paper company, Dunder Mifflin.  
She was in her final six months of a two year accounting course. Maggie had managed to be one of the final people to sign up to the scheme before it was scrapped by corporate.  
She nodded her head as Michael talked to her, trying to not look at the clock. It was only 9.30am on a Monday morning, and she was mentally counting the stacks of paper that needed to be checked before handing over to Angela. 

“Okay, so today is a big day for you. You know that empty desk across from Dwight? Well it’s yours. Think of it as my gift to you. You no longer have to sit in the annex with Toby”

“Oh. Thanks Michael. But, I don’t mind being with Toby” Maggie replied. She looked at the documentary crew behind Michael, she smiled at the camera man behind the object. 

“No. Won’t hear any excuses. Get your butt on the seat. There’s even a sign with your name so nobody steals the chair”

Maggie lets out a sigh before once again nods her head. “Is that all Michael?” Michael responds with a wave of his hand in shoo motion, giving her a toothy grin. She gets up from the seat and walks out the office. 

Maggie heads over to the table which is now her seat and finds a folded piece of paper standing up. Her name was written out in fancy bubble writing with a drawing of flowers and butterflies, she looks over her shoulder and mouths ‘thank you’ to the receptionist, and her oldest friend in the office, Pam Beesley. Pam is on the phone but sends a little smile her way. 

_‘I was actually a receptionist at another branch before getting on the trainee program. It was actually Pam who pushed me. Me and her go way back. We went to high school together, like I’m talking grunge phase and everything. And as a thanks for getting me this job as well as pushing to submit the application form for the accountant program, I’ve been buying her candy and coffee for the past few years’_

The door to suite 200 opened and the whole office could hear Michael talk to the crew following him as he gave a tour of the office. “See, we have the entire floor. So this is my kingdom - as far as the eye can see. Ah!” Michael bangs on the reception desk, Maggie jumps at the noise behinds her and spins her chair to watch. “This is Pam. Pam! Pam! Pam Beesley - Pam has been with us for forever really.” Pam shrugs shyly and blushes at the attention. “If you think she is cute now, you should have seen her a couple of years ago” Pam’s face drops into confusion, she goes to respond but Michael just continues. “Any messages?”  
Maggie rolls her eyes, spins her chair and gets back to the numbers in front of her. Dwight throws three more sheets on top of the messy pile in front of her.  
“Dwight, come on!” She hisses to the man in front of her. He just shrugs and unlocks his draw humming ‘Little Drummer Boy’ and connects his phone together. “For goodness sake” Maggie mutters under her breath. She gets up to head over to Angela. 

When she comes back, Jim is putting sharpened pencils in between the spaces of the desk to stop Dwight from messing with his desk. Maggie looks at the camera with wide eyes.

‘I was happy in the back with Toby. He's actually really nice. But I’ve been moved to the prankster table. Not really where I wanted to end up, but then again I never really wanted a career in looking over figures for paper sales. I always wanted to be children’s author’

Jan Levinson walks through the door phone in hand, Michael walks out of his office to greet her. Jim stops typing to watch. She just walks right past him and takes a seat in his office, Pam quickly follows and Michael just gives us all a large smile before shutting the door behind him. 

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Dwight asks.

“Don’t know Dwight. Why don’t you go knock on the door and find out?” Jim answers.

“Don’t be so stupid Jim. God I wish my hearing range was wider” 

Maggie puts her pencil down, gets up and heads towards the kitchen. She’s really craving some coffee. 

_‘How do I feel about the potential downsize? I don’t know. Let’s wait and see if I am actually going to be fired first and then can I come back and give you my answer?’_

When she gets back to her desk, she notices Jim now leaning on the reception desk talking to Pam. Setting down her hot drink, she reaches into her bag and pulls out some cookies. 

“Are you going to Angela’s cat party?” Pam asks Jim. The party was on Sunday afternoon. Maggie had been told to bring her own rescue cat, Beans. She had politely smiled and told Angela she would think about it when she received her own invite. However, if Pam was going then so would she. 

“Stop. That is ridiculous” Jim whispers back to her. “Hey, Midge?”

“Me?” Maggie spins around chewing on an oatmeal cookie. 

“Yeah. Midge is your new nickname - you’re so small. It fits. You going to Angela’s cat party?”

“Nope. Don’t like that nickname, think of something else” Jim shakes his head, firmly set on using the new nickname for her, especially now he knew it bothered her. “I don’t know. Haven’t decided yet,”

Suddenly, Michael comes out of his office and calls a meeting in the conference room. The whole office squeezes into the room. 

“Now! I know there are rumours out there and I just kind of want to say -“ Michael was interrupted by Dwight getting up demanding to know what was happening because he was assistant manager. “Dwight, you are assistant to the regional manager. I’m just about to tell everyone. Corporate has - urm - deemed it appropriate to enforce an ultimatum on me and Jan is thinking about downsizing either the Stanford branch or this branch”

“Michael, what if they downsize here?” Oscar, a man from accounting, questions.

“Not going to happen” Michael answered confidently. 

“It will be out of your hands Michael” Maggie responds, backing up Oscar’s point. 

“Maggie - it won’t be out of my hands. I promise you that” 

“Can you promise that?” Maggie asks, raising an eyebrow.

“On his mothers grave” Dwight jumped in and Michael glanced at him. 

“No. Well it is a promise. And I’m a little bit insulted you have to ask” The other people in the meeting started to pitch in their thoughts. “Hold on. I think Pam wanted to say something. You had a look that you wanted to say something…”Pam looks up from her hands, “I was in the meeting with Jan and she did say it was this branch that could get the axe,” The room got a little louder with chatter.

_‘I have six months left of my course. I just want to finish my course and then we can be axed’_

Maggie was walking back from the kitchen with coffee number four of the day when she heard Dwight shout at Jim.

“Hold on. Judge is in session. What is the problem here?” Michael asks, him and the new temp Ryan, standing around their desks. 

“Jim put my stapler in Jell-O again” Dwight gritted out as he slammed the prank on the table. Maggie let out a giggle from where she stood with Pam who was also chuckling. Jim smiled at the two women. “Thanks, this is the third time and it wasn’t funny the first two times either. You can be witnesses” Dwight pointed to Ryan and Maggie, the woman lifting her cup in agreement. “Michael, can you reprimand him please?”

“What?! How do you know it was me?” False innocence creeping into Jim’s voice as he eats Jell-O from a cup.

“It’s always you! Are you going to discipline him or now?”

“Oooo, discipline, kinky!” Maggie muttered an ‘ewww' underneath her breath and Jim scrunched his nose up. “All right, here’s the deal, you guys. Thing about a practice joke is that you have to know when to start as well as when to stop. Jim, now is the time to stop putting Dwight’s personal effects into Jell-O” 

“Okay” Jim nods and clears his throat agreeing with his boss. “Dwight, I’m sorry because - I have always been your biggest flan” The group around the table laughed. Maggie made eye contact with the camera and shook her head. 

_‘So, Michael is a jerk. An actual jerk. He took me into his office and told me I was fired and the company was no longer going to support me doing the course and I would have to pay for the rest of the training myself. But it was all a joke. Who does that? And then he did the same ‘prank’ with Pam. Why?! Because he’s a massive jerk’ Maggie puts her head in her hands and cries._

“Maggie, what’s up?” Jim asks Maggie noticing her eyes are blood shot and nose a little red. 

“Oh you know me. Just super busy. It’s all getting a little on top of me. Pam said you were going out for a drink with Roy..”

“No. No. Just going to head home, get an early night” 

“If you’re heading out now, can I walk with you? I have a headache coming on. My apartment is just down the road, you’ve technically done your job as a gentleman by walking me a quarter of the way home by getting the elevator” Maggie said, verbal vomit getting the best of her. 

“Yeah. Sure”

“Great, let me just go to the ladies and then we can go” Jim smiles and nods his head. Maggie heard him get up from his seat presuming he was getting his coat. When really he was putting Michael’s favourite mug in Jell-O on his desk; payback for making his two friends cry. 

_‘I suppose moving desks wasn’t the worse thing that happened today’._


	2. Chapter 2/Diversity Day (1x02)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows the episode 1x02, Diversity Day.  
> I know there's not a lot of character development. However, little nuggets of information will come as the story progresses, like it does in the actual series.  
> Enjoy!

_‘I like Michael, I do. He’s a great boss. Maybe. But he has zero filter which makes me want to not like him. Last week for example, he decided to copy Chris Rock’s routine’ Maggie shakes her head. ‘And obviously almost everyone complained to corporate about it. Myself included. Now, it’s diversity day and we have someone coming in to give us an hour’s talk on diversity in the work place’_

Maggie was leaning against the reception desk during her break before the talk with Mr Brown. She had recently accepted Pam’s proposal of being maid of honour at her wedding to Roy and Maggie had took it upon herself to bring in magazines and a binder of anything wedding relevant into the office to show her friend. 

“Pam, just look at how pretty these flowers are!” Maggie squeals, showing the picture to Pam. Pam gives her friend an unenthusiastic smile. “What’s wrong?”

“Just tired” The red headed woman continued to look at Jim, who was on sales call.

“Pam…”

Dwight decides to start shredding paper, making both women jump as their conversation came to abrupt stop. 

“Do you really have to do that right now?” Jim asks his co-worker, annoyed that he might loose the sale he has on the phone due to Dwight’s antics. 

“Yes I do. I should have done this weeks ago, actually”

“Mr Decker, I’m sorry about that…What were you say-“ 

Maggie, having enough of Dwight’s behaviour, put the magazine she was holding down, patted Pam’s arm and headed over to Dwight’s side of the desk. She pulled the shredder out of the plug socket. “Behave” She hissed in his ear. But before she could say anything else, the man in front of her clicked the button to end Jim’s call on the telephone set. Maggie pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“Thank, Dwight” Jim said sarcastically.

“Retaliation” Dwight points to Maggie like it was all her fault. “Tit for tit”

“And you’re a -“ Maggie mutters.

“That’s not the expression” Jim interrupts, giving her a look.

“Well, it should be” Dwight plugs the shredder back into the plug and the whirring sound started again. 

Maggie heads back to her side of the desk to start actually doing some work before the talk in the afternoon. She made eye contact with Jim and mouths ‘Sorry’, he just shrugs in response. 

_‘I’ve been sat with the two of them for a few weeks now. And sometimes it can be really funny and other times I want to shave both of their hair off. Oh, there’s an idea’_

“Well, diversity everybody! Let’s do it!” Michael called. Maggie put her pencil down, giving Jim a thumbs up as she noticed him on the phone talking to Mr Decker again. “Jim, can you wrap it up please? It’s diversity day. I wish every day was diversity day…”

Maggie took a seat in the middle of the room, between Pam and Jim. She handed the card she had filled out to Kelly, who was in front of her, so it could be collected by Mr Brown. 

“Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for filling these out and I promise this’ll be quick, At Diversity Today, our philosophy is about honesty and positive expectations. We believe that 99% of the problems in the workplace arise simply out of ignorance”

“You know what? This is a colour-free-zone here. Stanley, I don’t look at you as another race” Michael interrupts the speaker. 

“Uh, see this is what I’m talking about. We don’t have to pretend we’re colour-blind”

“Exactly, we’re not..-“

“That’s fighting ignorance with more ignorance”

“..With tolerance. You know what? Here’s what we’re going to do. Why don’t we go around and everybody…everybody say a race that you are attracted to sexually. I will go last. Go” 

Maggie, Jim and Pam looked at each other and shifted in their seats uncomfortably. Dwight immediately stands up to provide an answer. “I have two. White and Indian” Maggie cocks her head to the side and looks at the camera with a confused expression. 

“Actually, I’d prefer not to start that way. Micheal, I would love to have your permission to run this session. Can I have your permission?” Mr Brown looks at Michael. 

“Yes”

“Thank you and it would also help me if you were seated…Now, at the start of the session, I had you all write down an incident that you found offensive in the work place. Now, what I’m going to do is choose one and we’re going to act it out”

Dwight raises his hand. “A few of the ground rules?” 

“Hey, hey, why don’t you run it by me and I’ll run it by him?” Michael argues.

“Okay, can we steer away from gay people? I’m sorry. It’s an orientation. It’s not a race. Plus a lot of other races are intolerant of gays - so paradox”

“Well, we only have an hour”

“I figured it would save time”

“Okay. Why don’t we just defer to Mr…” Michael leaves the statement open for the other person to finish, knowing what his name is.

“Mr Brown”

“Ah. Right. Okay. First test. I will not call you that”

“Well, it’s my name. It’s not a test. Okay? So I’ve been looking through your cards, I’ve notices that so many of you wrote down the same incident, which is ironic, because it’s the exact incident I was brought in here to respond to. Now how many of you are familiar with the Chris Rick routine? So we’re going to reenact this with a more positive outcome”

Maggie looks at the camera and shakes her head. Kevin volunteers to do the scene. 

“Basically, there are two types black people…” Michael stops Kevin midway through the routine to do it himself. Maggie covers her eyes and slides down her seat, hoping the ground will swallow her up. Mr Brown is finally able stop Michael from doing anymore of the routine. Jim pulls Maggie back up into her seat. 

A flip chart is wheeled into the room by the speaker, with an acronym on the board. “Now, this is a simple acronym. HERO” Mr Brown points to each letter. “At Diversity Today, we believe it is very easy to be a HERO. All you need are honesty, empathy, respect and open-mindedness”

Dwight raises his hand as he speaks, “Excuse me, I’m sorry. That’s not all it takes to be a hero” 

“Oh, great. What is a hero to you?”

“A hero kills people, people that wish him harm. A hero is part-human and part-supernatural. A hero is born out of a childhood trauma, or out of a disaster that must be avenged”

“Okay, you’re thinking of a super hero”

Mr Brown hands out a sheet of paper for us all to sign as we enter the main office space to get back to work.

_‘I thought it was over. Michael made us do his own take on the Diversity Day lecture - I need caffeine. Do they do patches you can stick on your arm? Oh. Jim didn’t manage to make the sale, and even worse because I had to miss a mug of my usual daily intake of coffee of the day, I fell asleep on him. I’m so embarrassed. I left some cookies on his desk as a thank you. I hope he likes oatmeal and raisin. It’s all I had in my bag’_


	3. Health Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follows episode 1x03 of the Office US.  
> I don't own anything other than my characters.

_‘I’m definitely not working here for the health care plan…Why am I here again? Oh right because they’re paying for the course. Only five months to go’ Maggie smiles, lifts her hand up and wiggles her fingers to emphasise the point. ‘The money I make here allows me to do all the basic human stuff - eat, keep warm, drink cheap bottles of wine. No cable TV though. It doesn’t do that. Why did JK Rowling have to steal my idea about a boy wizard?’_

“So…trading spouses, have you seen it?” Jim asks Maggie and Pam, interrupting their conversation at the receptionist’s desk. Pam shook her head. 

“No Jim. I have a life” Maggie responds not looking up from the magazine article she had picked up when he walked over. Jim pulls down the magazine so he could see her face. “Interesting, what’s that like?” Maggie just shrugs and starts reading the article again. 

“You should try it sometime” Pam joins the conversation. Jim smiles at the other woman, a smile that Maggie has grown to like, not that she would ever tell him that. 

“Wow. Beesley. But then who would watch my TV? That is…”

“…Your problem” Pam finishes his sentence and they both laugh leaning a little closer to each other. Maggie starts to feel awkward, like she’s on the outside of the bubble that surrounds her two coworkers. She coughs a little, the moment between Jim and Pam is over and Michael steps out of his office.

“Maggie. Maggie May - step into my office” 

“Yup. Great”

_‘I’ve been at this branch for a couple of years now and I’ve only just started to listen to Jim’s advice on handling Michael. And if I can mess with Dwight too - well it keeps the day interesting’_

“I need a decision to be made and I’m too busy to do it myself. Because you’re a woman I thought I would let you pick a health care plan full of equal rights and all that, and then explain it to the rest of the office”

“Michael, I don’t think I am the right woman…person for the job. Don’t you have an assistant to the regional manager for a reason? I think Dwight would pick the perfect health care plan”

_‘Maggie smiles at the camera. A mischievous look is twinkling in her eyes. ‘Jim said anytime Michael asks me to do anything I don’t want to do, just tell him that Dwight will do it’_

Maggie was at the accounting corner waiting for Angela to sign her forms saying she completed her hours of training for this week. 

“Angela, we go through this every week, nothing on the form has changed from last week” 

“How do you know that?” Angela bit out. 

“Because why would they change it?” The blonde accountant gave a long sigh as she read the final few paragraphs. 

“He literally won’t come out of his office” Oscar said to the other three people surrounding him. ‘He’ being Michael. 

“He’s got to come out sometime. To go to the bathroom” Maggie nodded, smiling at Kevin, agreeing with his statement. Everybody has to go at some point, he was right.

“Kevin! That’s inappropriate…Here Maggie. Now you can leave”

Michael walked out of the kitchen area, having just gone to the bathroom. Maggie stopped typing and leant her elbows on the desk. 

“Michael, please, can we talk to you about this memo?” Meredith says to the boss, pushing a piece of paper in his face. 

“Ah, what? Which memo?” 

Pam came from behind the reception to stand behind Jim. “Dwight’s health care plan, I told you about it” 

“Is it a good plan?” 

Dwight enters the room from his own ‘office’, the conference room, hearing the argument happening outside. “It’s a great plan. It saves the company a fortune” He defends his actions. 

“It’s like a pay decrease” Oscar tells him. 

“Michael he’s made huge cuts” 

“Cuts? What? Wow! Dwight, did you make cuts?” 

“Yeah - you said…”

“No, no, no, you know what? I said nothing specific because I was so busy. Why don’t you go in there and find these people a plan that will work for them? Okay?” Dwight being the kiss ass he is, agreed what Michael said. “Okay? All right. Do we feel good? Plus, there’s some other good news. Today, at the end of the day, I will have, for all of you, a big surprise. Okay? So hang in there, and I will see you at the end of the day. Right?”

Maggie leans over to Jim and pokes his arm with a pen. “I don’t think there’s a surprise” 

“No, Midge. I don’t either”

The conference room door opens. Dwight swaggers out, like he’s the king of the world. 

“Everyone! Gather round. Step forward. It has been brought to my attention that some of you are unhappy with my plan. So what I’d like you to do is to fill this out” He waves a form on a single piece of paper around. “Write down any diseases you have that you might want covered and I’ll see what I can do”

Jim and Maggie look at each other, Maggie nods her head to him, giving permission for him to take this one. “We can’t write our diseases down for you because that’s confidential” 

“Well, I didn’t say write your name down, did I? Fill it out, leave it anonymous. Or, don’t write any disease down at all and it won’t be covered. Sound fair? Good. I’ll be in my office. 

“Workspace”

_‘Who knew messing with Dwight could be so much fun! On my form I’ve written down a terrible, contagious disease that turns your teeth into glass, and suddenly they shatter - It’s called glassitis. Oh and Jim and I came up with Count Choculitis, so you can only drink chocolate syrup for the rest of your life!'_

Dwight stormed out of his office, his face all red. “Who did this? I’m not mad. I just want to know who did it so I can punish them” He waves the now filled out forms in Jim’s face. 

“Dwight? What are you talking about?” Maggie asks calmly. 

His eyes zeroed in on hers as Dwight moves from standing in front of Jim to Maggie, “Someone forged medical information and that is a felony”

“Okay” Maggie stood up to her full 5ft 2” height, she forgot she was wearing flats. “That is a pretty intense accusation. How do you know they’re fake?”

“Uh, leprosy? Flesh eating bacteria, Hot-dog fingers. Government-created nanorobot infection” He turned to Jim again. “You did this, didn’t you?”

“Absolutely not”

“I know it was. Fine. You know what? I’ll have to interview each and everyone of you until the perpetrator makes HIM or HERSELF known. And until that time, there will be no health care coverage for anyone! And I think I know who to start with - Jim, Margaret, come with me” 

The both of them follow him into the conference room and took a seat in front of Dwight. They continue to stare at him until he decides to talk again. “The problem, Jim, Maggie, is that people who are really suffering from a medical condition won’t receive the care they need, because someone in this office is coming up with all this ridiculous stuff” Dwight looks down at the writing in front of him. “Count Choculitis?”

“Sound tough” Maggie says in response. 

“Why did you write that down, Jim? Is it because you know I love Count Chocula, Maggie?”

“Do you?” Jim asks innocently. 

There was a beat of silence. “I think you need to confess…the fact…what are you doing? Those are my keys?!” 

Jim grabs Maggie’s wrist and snatches the keys at the end of the table. He quickly closes the door and locks it. He hands Maggie the keys, she puts them on the bookshelf in front of the conference room. 

“Jim! Maggie! Come on! Let me out!”

The partners in crime make their way to their respective desks to continue their work as Dwight bangs on the window behind them. 

_‘So I think I have a talent for winding up Dwight with Jim. Maybe this can be my career?”_

Michael steps through the door holding a plastic bag from a store about a mile away from the office. “Hey. Everybody, ice cream sandwiches” He starts to throw them out to the office employees, Maggie’s lands on the floor, there was no way she was eating that. She slides it on to Jim’s desk, who was eating his own ice cream sandwich. He picks it up, spins his chair and throws it at the conference room window. Dwight flinches back from the blinds and Maggie gives a smile to the camera. 

Michael finds the keys and rescues Dwight from the conference room, after he received a phone call from Jan Levison. Dwight calls a conference meeting with all the healthcare plans set out on a table and the rows of chairs set out in front of him. 

Unfortunately, because there was not enough space for everyone in the office to sit down, it meant some of the staff had to stand up. Maggie was standing to Pam’s left and Jim was standing in the corner, Maggie in front of him. Just to annoy her, Jim ruffles her hair, she glares up at him. Pam chuckling at the two interacting whilst listening to Dwight talk. 

“I’m now going to read out loud your submitted medical conditions. When you hear yours read, please raise your hand to indicate that is real. If you do not raise your hand, it will not be covered”

Maggie raises her hand. “ What about confidentiality?” 

“You know what? You have forfeited that privilege. I have tried to treat you all as adults, but obviously I am the only adult here. Number one, inverted penis. 

“Could you mean vagina? Because if you mean that, I want that covered” Meredith speaks up.

“I thought your vagina was removed during your hysterectomy?”

“A uterus is different from a vagina. I still have a vagina” 

It was now nearly five, the end of the day, and we had just finished the meeting from hell. It got a little too personal for Maggie’s liking. Everyone was stated around waiting for Michael to come out of his office. 

“Do you think we should go?” Kevin loudly whispers to Oscar. 

“I don’t know, Kevin. This is important. I don’t want to…” Michael looks through the closed blinds and Maggie gets up from her seat to sit on Jim’s desk sharing her cookies and coffee with him. He mutters his thanks. Michael finally steps out of his office and exactly five o’clock. “Well?”

“Well, what? You could be referring to anything” Micheal responds blankly. 

“Okay. The health care plan”

“Why did you put Dwight in charge of that? He did a horrible job”

“Dwight?” Michael turns his attention to him. “Did you raise benefits?” Dwight answers with a firm no. “Oh, come on! That’s horrible. Thanks, Dwight, for a crappy plan. I wish I had time to change it, but Jan needs it by five. Hmmm. What time is it? It’s after five. Okay, see you Monday guys!”

“What about the surprise?”

“Yes, thank you, Angela. For reminding me. Terrific. Um, before I tell everybody what the big surprise is, would you like to tell me what you think the surprise is?” 

Maggie sighs and looks at the camera disappointed in her boss. She uses Jim’s shoulder to support her as she hops off the desk and leaves the office. She was ready to go home and spend her weekend with her tabby cat, Beans.


	4. The Alliance and Basketball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows 1x04 and 1x05.  
> I will be adding two episodes into one chapter every so often, just to flesh the story out a little. 
> 
> I'd love to know what you all think, what's been your favourite moment so far? Do you like Maggie?

The lingering feeling of not getting enough sleep was affecting Maggie’s brain as she looks at the numbers in front of her. It was decided, she needs to distract herself by making her favourite hot drink, and maybe splash some cold water on her face. 

Oscar waves her over to the water cooler where him, Toby and Jim are standing around, laughing at the jokes they were telling each other. 

“Hi boys! What’s the hot gossip?” Maggie asks, she grabs a plastic cup and fills it. 

“Oh, we heard you’re having a baby” Jim says casually leaning on the top of the cooler. Maggie choked on her drink. 

“Urm, if by ‘having a baby’ you mean getting a new rescue pet, then yes I’m having a baby Jimbo” She pulls out her wallet from her handbag and grabs the photo the man at the rescue centre had took for her on a disposable camera. “Isn’t she precious…This is Roxy! She’s a mixed breed, they’re not sure what exactly, but they think a Beagle with a Chihuahua. I get to take bring her home next weekend. Who told you anyways?”

“Oh. Angela. She said she no longer respects you and thinks you no longer have a soul. She saw you looking at the photo in the kitchen earlier”

“She respected me? What? When?” Oscar shrugs, Toby and Jim laugh. 

_‘I know we already have Beans, he’s getting a little old now. I wanted him to have company throughout the day, especially when Paul, that’s my brother he works in the warehouse, isn’t in the apartment. I volunteer at the animal rescue centre and I saw Roxy about a month ago, she’d been fostered a lot but not adopted and I’ve been getting to know her. I just felt this overwhelming want to love her and care for her. My brother, said he didn’t mind the extra company’_

Maggie was called into the conference room with Angela and Phyllis by Pam; together they make up the party planning committee. The regional manager had decided the best way to make everyone happy was to celebrate Meredith’s birthday a month early; a way he saw would boost morale and overall performance of the office.

“Well, for decorations, maybe we could - it’s stupid forget it” Phyllis started to explain her idea but she looks at Angela and her self confidence plummets. Maggie puts a hand on her arm.

“What?” Encourages Maggie.

“I was just going to say, maybe we could have streamers, but that’s dumb, everybody has streamers. Never mind”

“No, I think that’s a good idea” 

“What colour do you guys think?” Angela asks.

“Well, there’s green…uh blue…yellow….red”

“How about green?” Pam decides on a colour.

“I like green. Green’s my favourite colour” Maggie motions to the light green shirt she’s wearing.

“I think green is kind of whore-ish” Angela frowns at the woman on the other side of the table and Maggie glares back. 

_‘Pam suggested we flip a coin to stop an argument from starting, but Angela, well, she doesn’t like to gamble’ Maggie rolls her eyes. ‘But you see by saying that and basically calling me a whore, she was gambling that I wouldn’t climb over the table to wipe that smug smile off her face. I think Pam knew so she told me, her and Phylis had it handled’_

“Yeah, sure. I can do that. I’ll fax it over right away” Maggie put the phone down and wrote the task out on a post stick note. 

“Did you get your tickets?” Dwight asks Jim.

“To what?”

“The gun show” Dwight then rolls up his already short shirt sleeves, to show off his bicep muscles. Jim gives him an unimpressed look, and Maggie bangs her head on her desk. She could hear Dwight’s heavy breathed chuckle. 

“You walked right into that one, Jimbo” Maggie tells him as she ruffles his hair, making her way to Kelly in the annex to ask for the correct forms she needed to fax over to the client. 

Later in the day, the surprise party was beginning. Angela had used some sort of excuse to get Meredith out of the office, so the rest of the party planning committee could decorate the space with balloons, red streamers and give everyone party cone hats.

The office employees stood around Jim’s, Dwight’s and Maggie’s desk, although she noticed she was the only one from the three conjoined desks at the party. She made a mental note to ask Jim about it later, she put a green cone hat on her head as she heard the door to the suite open. 

“Surprise!” Michael screams at Meredith, who looked a little more than shocked. “It’s surprise, Meredith! One, two - Happy Birthday to you” The people in the office awkwardly sung happy birthday. Phylis and Pam brought out an ice cream cake with candle on. 

Meredith blew the candles out before the wax dripped on to the cake, she shyly said thank you to everybody and Phylis cut up the cake into slices. 

“You were surprised, weren’t you?” Michael asks Meredith. She nods. “You looked freaked, man. We said, ‘surprise’ and you were, like, ‘what? What the hell is goin’ on here?’ Good cake. Why don’t you have some?”

“I can’t, No, I can’t eat dairy”

“Oh, right. Oh, god. Too bad, it’s so good. Right, Maggie? Wasn’t it your suggestion” Maggie shakes her head at the man for lying. “You know what? If I were allergic to dairy, I think I’d kill myself” Maggie looked at the camera with wide eyes and shuffles away awkwardly, starting a conversation with Kevin. 

_‘Urmmm, I don’t know what to say about that’_

By the time Meredith was given the card from Micheal, Maggie had snuck another slice of cake on to her plate and was happily eating watching the scene in front of her unfold. 

“Happy birthday, Meredith” Pam says handing over the envelope. 

“Read it out loud. And say who wrote everything, so we know whose is the best” Michael ordered the woman. 

Meredith pulled the card out of the envelope. “Happy Bird Day” There was chuckles around the room which made the boss smile in delight. “Meredith, good news: you’re not actually a year older, because you work here where time stands still. That was Stanley. Meredith, Happy Birthday. You’re the best, love, Pam. This is from Michael. Meredith: let’s hope the only downsizing that happens to you is that someone downsizes your age”

Awkward silence follows. Maggie stops eating the cake and puts the plate down to give the other woman a hug. 

“Because of the downsizing. Rumours. And because you’re getting old” Michael explains his joke.

“No I get it - it’s funny”

“You didn’t get the joke. So…that’s cool That’s - you know what? Actually, I have a bunch of these…good ones that I didn’t use” Michael pulls out a folded pieces of paper from his pocket. Maggie rubs her hand up and down her friend’s arm in an offer of comfort. “Okay, here’s a good one. Um, Hey, Meredith, Liz Taylor called. She wants her age back and her divorces back. ‘Cause Meredith’s been divorced, like, twice? Meredith is so old…

“How old is she?” Kevin mutters back. 

“She is so old, she went into an antique store and they kept her. That wasn’t even mine. I got that off the internet…website. So don’t get mad at me”

“Nice party, Michael” Oscar says out loud. 

“This isn’t my fault. Um, ladies, not your best effort. The streamers? I think we could’ve done better than that, don’t you think?”

“Told you green would’ve looked better” Maggie whispers to Angela. She hears Pam snicker under her breath and Jim looks at them both confused. 

“Okay. All right, people, hold on. Just a second, okay? I think we’re losing sight of what is really important here. And that is we are a group of people who work together. I was - I really wasn’t gonna flaunt this. I have made a very sizeable donation to Oscar’s nephew’s Walk-A-Thon. 25 dollars, per mile. A check for the kids. And for the team”

Maggie goes back to eating her cake and wanders over to the reception desk. Jim overtakes her, jogging to the other side of the desk. 

“I have something that totally tops the box!” Maggie hears the excitement in Jim’s voice and knows immediately him and Pam are pranking Dwight. “I have just convinced Dwight that he needs to go to Stamford, and spy on our other branch. But before he does so, I told him he should dye his hair to go undercover”

Maggie joins in with their laughter, she notices Pam and Jim are holding on to each other and her laughter dies fast as the door to the office space slams shut. It’s Roy. 

“What the hell is this?! What, are you trying to cop a feel of somethin’, Halpert? Baby Harris not enough for you?”

“What - dude? no. no. I was just - listen. I don’t even know how to explain this. Dwight asked me to be in an alliance. And, then, urm, we were…we’ve just been messing with him, because of the whole alliance thing. And what was that about Maggie? You think I’m with Maggie?”

“It’s just office pranks” Pam looks up at her fiancee, trying help explain. 

“It’s stupid. It’s just office pranks”

“An alliance? What the hell’s he talking about? Baby Harris, do you know?” 

Maggie’s mouth was full of cake, she shakes her head, Roy’s attention goes to Dwight who was standing behind her next to a plant. “I have absolutely no idea”

Jim realises he’s been played by Dwight, and he looks at Maggie for reassurances. His friend just looks at him disappointed as she walks away.

//

_‘Thanks for asking. Roxy is settling in nicely, although I think she likes Paul more than me. Maybe it’s because he takes her out for more walks, and secretly bribes her with treats when I’m not at home’ Maggie crosses her arms and pouts._

Maggie and Jim was playing their morning game of noughts and crosses whilst waiting for their boss to arrive. It was currently a tie between them, they had both won two games in this round, so the next person to win the game, won this round. 

“Jim, hey! You ready?” Michael asks, he walks through the door holding a bag. Jim’s concentration breaks as he shows Michael the gym bag from under his desk. He puts a cross in the wrong box. 

“Ha! Jim, I win this round” Maggie says, she puts a nought in the top right corner drawing a line across the board.

“Yeah but I’ve still won three rounds, Harris. So you owe me a coffee next time you get one” Maggie stuck her tongue out at Jim and pouted. “I’m only stating the facts” Jim puts his hands up in a surrender motion. 

Maggie had made drinks for both of them, she was walking through the space will mugs full of hot liquid. She sees Dwight holding a large whiteboard. She slows down her walk, not wanting to get involved in whatever was about to happen. 

“So, we need someone to work this Saturday and I think that it should be…Jim” Dwight writes his coworker’s name on the board. Maggie puts down the mug in front of Jim. 

“Thanks, Midge” He winks at her, she sticks her tongue out at him. “God, this is so sad. This is the smallest amount of power I’ve seen go to someone’s head. Maggie, can you believe this?”

“Nope. Keep me out of it”

_‘I have to say I like the idea of working on Saturday. Just not for me. I’ve noticed that Dwight hasn’t nominated himself’_

“No, no, I know that the warranty’s expired, but isn’t it supposed to last longer than two years if it isn’t defective? Okay. Fine, three years” Pam stresses to the person on the other end on the phone call. Maggie sighs and looks at her friend with sympathy. 

_‘If they want to be together, and love each other, why don’t they just get married? I know financial reasons are big one - but they can elope? Just invite their parents?...And me, of course. It doesn’t have to be this big occasion. A wedding is supposed to be about the love you have for the person you are marrying, right?’_

Teams had now been decided, and the stakes had been risen. Michael had proposed that the warehouse staff come in Saturday if they lose the game. Maggie’s eyes lit up with the idea of not working a Saturday when her brother was here. It was a sibling’s duty to brag.

“Please, don’t throw garbage at me, when Pam doesn’t respond to you, Michael” Maggie looks at her boss. 

“Oh, Pam and Maggie - how would you like to be our cheerleaders today? You know, some, ah, pigtails? A little halter top, you could tie that up” He points to Pam’s shirt. “And you know something a little, just, youthful, for a change. Just this once?”

“I don’t think so Michael. Besides, I can’t cheer against my fiancé”

“And don’t think my brother will be impressed, you know Paul don’t you Michael? He’s the tall one, with large muscles”

“I’ll do it. Wear a flounced skirt if you want. And…”

“Oh Jim, would you? I think you should wear green to match your eyes” Maggie responds. 

“Yeah, I bet you would. Just try not to be too gay on the court. And by gay I mean, urm, you know, not in a homosexual way at all” Maggie raises her eyebrows at Michael and folds her arms across her chest, unimpressed with what her boss was stuttering out. “I mean, uh, like the bad-at-sports way, I think that goes without saying”

“Maybe Angela would cheerlead?” Pam suggests. Maggie snickers under her breath, imaging the stuck up head of accounting cheerleading. 

“I’ll do it” Phyllis proposes. 

“Oh yuck, that’s worse than you playing” Maggie gives the camera closest to her a look. “‘Cause we need you as an alternate in case somebody gets hurt. That’s where we need you. Blessed be those who sit and wait. You made it, suit up, you’re on the team! All right, cool!”

_‘So I know I don’t look like your typical sports player, and you’re right I’m not very good at basketball. However, I am pretty good at baseball. Ask Paul. I once hit him on the head with the ball, he had to go to the hospital. Whoops. Who hits like a girl now, Paul?’_

The basketball game was in session, Maggie was sat next to Pam on the bench and was holding a sign she got Pam to design saying ‘Paul is a loser!’. Every time Paul ran past she would call his name and wave the sign around. 

“P-A-U-L. Whose a loser? Oh it’s Paul” Maggie chants when she spots her brother with the ball in his hand. He passes it to Roy and holds his middle finger up to her. “Well, that’s not very brotherly is it?”

Dwight gets the ball and manages to put the ball in the hoop. Maggie claps and whoops, giving a thumbs up to her desk mate. The game plays on.

Michael starts to sing a made up song, trying to distract Roy steals the ball and scores. He starts mimicking the regional boss’ singing. “Your ball”

“Bring it in! Come on!” Michael screams to his team, they gather round him in a huddle. The players change tactics. Now, Jim is tagged to Roy and Maggie has a bad feeling churning in her stomach and judging by Pam’s expression so does she. 

“C’mon, Jim! Shoot it! Shoot it” Maggie yells from the sidelines. Roy elbows Jim in the mouth with his elbow. “Crap! Jim! You okay?”

“Whoa, whoa. Naked aggression! Oh, that is…You all right, Jim?” Jim nods a little shocked. “Good. Suck it up” Maggie looks at her boss in disbelief. 

Jim gets the ball back from a warehouse player, the game is moving too quick for Maggie to process who. Her sign is now on the floor as she watches Jim push Roy out of the way, the ball lands in the hoop. The office team get another point.

Phyllis, being Stanley’s substitute, scores again after getting the ball from Paul. Michael stops the game after a guy called Lonny puts his arm out to stop his shot, he fakes an injury. “Let’s just say whoever was ahead won”

“That was you” Darryl points out. 

“It was us? Really? I didn’t, I didn’t know. Great! I mean I guess you guys are working Saturday. In you face!”

Still running on adrenaline from the game, Roy makes his way over to the two men. “I’m not coming in on Saturday”

“Well, you guys, you know, I’m the boss, so…”

“So, what’s that? We’re coming in on Monday, right?” Paul joins the group of men, he looks intimidating, not really wanting to come into work on the Saturday. 

“Hey, hey..”

“Monday?”

Michael nervous laughs at the three men in front of him. “You guys believed me? Come on. Dogs., you know, you should know better than that. No, oh, do you think that would’ve been good for morale? No, no, no. Exactly, no. I’m embarrassed it was even that close though. So, nah. Of course, we’re coming in Saturday. Good game. Word” 

Paul looks over to his sister with a smirk on his face, he raises his eyebrows, daring her to say something. Maggie looks up to the ceiling and walks up the steps to go back to the office. 

_‘Whose the loser? Maggie is’ She claps to a slow beat and smiles sarcastically to the camera, Paul stands next to her. He is beaming._

Jim sits in the cushioned arm chair outside of Michael’s office, trying to talk, whilst Maggie was dabbing his lip with ice wrapped up in a tea towel because Angela refused to give her access to the First Aid Kit. 

“Jim….Would you stop moving?! We need to reduce the swelling” She looks up as Roy comes through the office door. Maggie rolls her eyes and continues to dab at Jim’s lip. He tries to pull away. “Fine, do it yourself” She puts the towel in his hands and walks to her desk watching Pam and her fiancé walk away. Jim casts his eyes downwards.


	5. Hot Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows the final episode of season 1, The Office (US).

Maggie looks up from her desk, she notices a woman holding a pink coat and a large canvas bag at her feet she was looking around the place a little nervous. Maggie remembered Pam telling her she was going down to the warehouse to talk to Roy whilst he was on his break and to cover for her.

“Hi, I’m Maggie, you okay?”

“I’m Katy. And urm, I was wondering if it was okay for me to sell bags here?” Katy asks with a sweet smile gracing her face. 

“Let me just go and ask my boss, I’ll be right back” Maggie knocked on the door before she entered the office, knowing him and Dwight would be up to something most likely inappropriate. She glances behind her looking at Jim with an over exaggerated scared face. “Um, Michael…Hey there’s a person here who wants to sell handbags”

“No, no, no. No vendors in the office. That is a distraction”

“Okay, if you’re sure?”

“Maggie, come on, I’m busy. So just tell her to go away” The woman nods her head and turns to go back to Katy. 

“So my boss said no, but is it okay if I have a quick look? I’ve been meaning to get myself a new bag” Maggie tells the other woman. 

“Sure, this one is hand-embroidered…” Katy shows off a small purple bag, passing it to Maggie, who feels the stitching. 

Michael comes out of the office. “All right, girls! Break it up! You’re being infiltrated. Cock in the henhouse” Maggie raises her eyebrows at Michael. Michael avoids making eye contact with Maggie as he changes his technique by putting on a British accent. “What is your name, my fair lass?”“Katy” 

“Ah, Katy. Wow, look at you! You are, uh like the new and improved Pam. Don’t you agree Maggie?”

“No” 

“Uh, yes. Pam 6.0” Michael counter argued. “Ohhhh! Look. Oh, hey, no cat fights, you two. I’m against violence in the workplace” The two women give an awkward smile to each other. 

“So am I” Dwight jumps in, wanting to be included in the conversation. 

“Nobody cares what you think” Michael stage whispers to his assistant. “So, you know what? I usually don’t allow solicitors in the office. But today, I am going to break some rules. And you can have the conference room,. It’s yours, all day”

“Wow, thanks” 

Maggie looks down at the office timetable Pam had left on the desk behind reception. “Pam’s written down that there’s a HR meeting in there at 11.30”

“Well let’s put them in the hallway. We’ll give them some chairs. Right? Decisiveness! One of the keys to success, according to ‘Small Businessman’” Michael goes to show the saleswoman to the conference room. 

_‘Wait, Small Businessman is a subscription thing…oh I thought he was just quoting himself. I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened’ Maggie shrugs at the cameraman._

Pam still hadn’t come back from seeing Roy and Maggie found herself sat at the receptionist’s desk, answering phone calls and updating Michael’s calendar. Kevin comes around the desk stapling pieces of paper together. 

“Kevin? Are you supposed to come back here?” 

“Are you jealous, ‘cause there’s another girl around?” Maggie continues to stare at the computer screen, choosing not to answer the question. “She’s prettier than you, though”

“Gee, thanks Kev”

_Maggie stirs at the camera in front of her. ‘So, Michael seems to be having fun. I don’t think he has many friends, so maybe he’ll make one today. If he doesn’t say something offensive, or rude or tries to hit on her’_

Pam had finally come back up to the office with Roy, and the couple was sat with Maggie, Jim and Kevin in the kitchen having lunch. 

“So, Jimmy, what do you think of that little purse girl, huh?” Asks Roy, putting a stop the silence in the room.

“Cute, sure, yeah”

“Why don’t you get on that?”

“She’s not really my type”

“What are you gay?“

"Roy! You can’t say that. Why can’t you just say ‘what’s your type?’ Or something” Maggie scowls at her best friend’s fiancé. He just shrugs, takes a big bite out of his sandwich before repeating the question Maggie told him to ask. 

“Moms, primarily. Yep. Soccer moms. Single moms.Nascar moms. Any type of moms, really” Jim replies, looking at Pam and then to Roy. Maggie gets up to refill her cup with water, she misses him looking at her a little longer than necessary. 

“Stay away from my mother, Jimmy” Maggie calls as she walks out of the kitchen and back to her desk, her face looks sad as she stares at her computer blankly. 

_‘God, I feel like I’m back in middle school. I have no problem admitting I have a crush on Jim. It’ll go away soon enough. My main priority is making sure Pam is happy with man she is marrying. And right now, I don’t think she is’_

Maggie was adding numbers into the computer system, when she sees Jim and Dwight stare at Katy through the conference room window. 

“She’s be perfect for you” Jim tells Dwight softly, winking at Maggie as he spins his chair in a better position to talk to his coworker/enemy. Maggie blushes trying to pretend she wasn’t going to listen to the two men. 

“She’s been talking to Michael a lot”

“So what? You’re Assistant Regional Manager” 

“Assistant to the Regional Manager”

“Well, you know what, Dwight? He’s your work boss, okay? He is not your relationship boss”

“That’s true” Dwight agrees passionately. 

“Plus, you have so much more to talk to this girl about. You’re both, um, salesmen. I mean, that’s something right there. 

“True. Plus, I could talk to her about the origins of my last name”

Jim nods his head. “It’s all gold” He looks at the camera with his trademark smirk. The three of them look at Katy. “All right. Here’s the thing okay, you just keep talking to her. If you hit a stall you have the perfect fall back.

“What’s that? Dwight asks.

“You buy a purse”

“I don’t want a purse. Purses are for girls”

“Dwight, that’s not necessarily true. Do you read GQ? I do. They’re like mini briefcases, alright? Lots of guys have them”

“Like those?” The glares at Jim, trying to figure out if he is joking. 

“Yes. Listen, you are spending way too much time talking to me, when you could be talking to her”

“Okay, I’m just going to use the bathroom, and then I’m going…” Jim pushes the man forward to the conference room. Once Dwight is in there, he speeds over to the reception desk to mimic Dwight buying a purse with Pam. Maggie sighs and gets back to work. 

_‘So Dwight bought a handbag. I think he looks great. It really matches his glasses’ Maggie bursts out laughing and covers her mouth with her hand, not able to stop._

Maggie and Pam were sat in Michael’s office. Apparently he needed both of their advice on something of the upmost importance. 

“Did we get any mail?” Michael looks at Pam.

“Yeah, I gave them to you” Pam answers, she looks at Maggie who just shrugs. She is just as confused as Pam about why Michael needed to see her. 

“Yes, you did. Just checkin’, just checkin’, double checkin’, checkin’ on the check. Thoroughness is very important in an office and…”

“Look, Michael, I have this test I need to study for on bookkeeping controls. Can I go?” Maggie interrupts the man. 

“Just…urm. How do girls your age feel about futons?”

Pam told Jim as soon as she left the office, leaning on Jim’s desk laughing. Maggie rolled her chair over joining the pair.

“A futon? He’s a grown man”

“That’s what he said” Maggie tells him, taking a sip of the warm drink in front of her. 

“That’s sad. Or it’s innovative. Well, you know the futon is a bed and couch all rolled into one” Jim trails off when he spots Roy behind him, he rolls his chair closer to Maggie to give the couple some space to talk and flirt. 

Jim reaches down and hands his other female friend the purple hand stitched purse she had been looking at that morning. “This is for you, as a good luck present, I know you have that exam on Monday, so I thought you’d like this. It can be like your good luck charm or whatever”

“Jim….I love it. Thank you” Maggie places the item down gently on her desk and throws her arms around the man.

“Woah, okay”

_Maggie shows the handbag off to camera, she’s twirls around with it on her shoulder. She sits down in the chair a little dizzy from the spins. “Apart from my dad, and brother, no man has ever bought me anything before. Jim really can be sweet when he wants to be, don’t you think?”_

Maggie was bored of doing work, so she rolls over to Jim’s side of the desk and leans on her head on her hand looking at the man. 

“What’s up?” Jim asks the woman as he finishes his typing. 

“I’m bored”

“Thank you for choosing me”

“Noooo. I’m joking. You got big plans this weekend?” Maggie smiles at him.

“Ah, well I think I’m going to see Katy” Her smile drops slightly, a beat of silence follows as she processes what he’s said to her. 

“What are you guys going to do?”

“Oh, man I don’t know. Uh, dinner, drinks, movie, matching tattoos” He says, getting a short laugh from her. 

“That’s great” Maggie almost chokes on the word. 

“What are you doing?” 

“I think I might take out Roxy for a walk or snuggle with the greatest tabby cat in the world, Beans”

“Well, why not both?”

“Yeah…Maybe I will”

They both look at each other for a moment. Jim looks at his watch and notices the time. “I’ll see you on Monday” He gets up, and heads to the conference room to help Katy pack up her belongings. 

“Yeah, see you on Monday” Maggie says to the empty space.


End file.
